Interlocking panel assembly



y 25, 1957 G. KESSLER ETAL INTERLOCKING PANEL ASSEMBLY Filed June 9, 1964 i Him INVENTORS Milton Kessler Gerald Kessler ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,332,192 INTERLOCKING PANEL ASSEMBLY Gerald Kessler, 388 Cranberry Run Road 44512, and Milton Kessler, 4535 Grove Drive 44505, both of Youngstown, Ohio Filed June 9, 1964, Ser. No. 373,641 3 Claims. (Cl. 52-538) This invention relates to panels, and more particularly, to panels which are suitable for use in building construction.

Preformed panels for use in the construction of buildings are, of course, not new. In fact, in recent years preformed panels of many types of materials have been used in increasing numbers. Plywood panels, veneered with mahogany, walnut, birch and other woods, and then factory finished to preserve the appearance, are available for interior construction. Enamelled steel panels, preformed in many sizes and shapes, are available for construction of exterior walls. Although preformed construction panelling is old and well known, most of the present-day panels present serious disadvantages in many types of construction.

Contemporary architecture emphasizes buildings, particularly for use as offices, industry and commerce, which present an exterior facade substantially unbroken by windows. Modern heating and air-conditioning systems provide the interior atmosphere desired. However, reliance on interior lighting alone is not advantageous in many cases, In these situations, it is desirable to use materials which are translucent for the exterior walls of a building. Fiberglass panels have been used in some cases, but such panels are expensive, and they, again, present their own problems, not the least of which is insufficient thermal insulation.

It is an object of this invention to provide new and improved panels useful in the construction of buildings.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved panel which is adaptable to several uses in the construction of buildings.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved construction material for buildings.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, which description should be considered together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational View of panel of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of two adjacent panels as they are used in the building of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the panel of the invention, which section is taken along line IIIIII of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the panel shown in FIG. 3 to better illustrate the end coupling means of the panel;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a position of a composite panel; and

FIG. 6 is a similar sectional view of an alternative composite panel.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and particularly to FIG. 1, the reference character 11 designates a building of contemporary design which comprises a lower portion having a facing 12 of brick or other such construction material. The building 11 contains windows 13 and doors 14 in the lower portion. The upper portion 15 of the building is formed of a series of continuous narrow panels disposed on a slight angle with the vertical as shown at 15a and topped with a roof 16 of any suitable construction. The upper portion 15 of the building 11 is preferably translucent to permit light to penetrate to the interior, is weather resistant, and is easily applied, removed and repaired.

a building using the "ice In FIG. 2, portions of two panels 20 and 21 are illustrated as they appear in actual use. A thin space 22 separates the surfaces of the two panels. Exposed in FIG. 2 is the construction of one end of the panel 21, which end comprises two ribs 23 and 24 separated from each other by a space 26. The panels 20 and 21 are preferably formed of a synthetic resin which may be readily extruded and which weathers well. Examples of such materials are polyvinyl chloride, methyl acrylate, polyethylene, polystyrene, and the like. The panels 20 and 21 may be formed in any convenient width, six inches being one example of a width which is conveniently extruded from present plastics extruding machines. However, narrower or wider panels may be readily formed. The panels are formed in any suitable length, such as 10 feet, 15 feet, etc The panels 20 and 21 may be mounted on the face of a building in any suitable manner as by nailing to the supporting wooden frame, bolting at each end to steel framing, etc. In most lengths up to 10-15 feet, attachment at the ends alone would be sufficient in most installations. However, if desired, and for longer lengths, intermediate framing members may be provided to support the panels.

The panels are designed to interlock at the edges. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each of the panels 21 is formed with a pair of ribs 27 and 28 with barbs or ridges 33 on their inside surfaces along their entire lengths. The ribs 27 V and 28 extend at right angles to the plane of the panel 21,

and outward from the face. At the other end, a portion 29 of the panel 21 is bent backward and then parallel to the face of the panel, and two ribs 23 and 24 extend from this parallel portion at right angles to the plane of the panel toward the front surface. The rib 23 has barbs or ridges 32 formed in both of its sides. The ridges 32 are oflfset slightly from the ridges 33 so that one set of barbs 33 coincides with the other set of notches between the barbs 32. The ribs are sufiiciently deep to add substantially to the strength and stiffness of the panels.

To assemble the panels for use, a rib 23 of a panel 21 is slid into the space between the ribs 27 and 28 of an adjacent panel 20. The ridges 32 of the rib 23 fit into the notches between the ridges 33 of the ribs 27 and 28 just as the barbs 33 on the ribs 27 and 28 fit into the notches between the barbs 32 of the rib 23. This provides a strong, tightly gripping assembly which does not readily pull apart, but which may be disassembled when desired. The entire assembly may then be secured in place on a building in any suitable manner as mentioned above.

Preferably, the panel 21 is formed of a translucent material such as a synthetic resin In many geographic locations, a single panel thickness will supply sufficient protection from changing weather conditions. However, in some climates, additional insulation may be desired. To provide this additional insulation, the panel of this invention may be used with a second panel spaced therefrom. On the portion 29 of the panel 21, the portion 29 being that part which is bent backward (see FIGS. 3 and 4), a small projection 31 is provided immediately behind the plane of the panel. At the other end of the assembled panels 20 and 21, the rib 24 is of a length to provide a small space between its end and the back of the panel 20. An insulating panel 41 having a flat body portion of substantially the same dimensions as the body portion of the panel 21, has

- its two ends 42 and 44 bent at right angles to form an open channel. The edge of the side 42 is bent to form a flange 43 which fits between the end of the rib 24 and the back of the panel 20. The edge of the other side 44 is formed with a depression 45 therein running the entire length of the side. The insulating panel 41 is assembled to the panel 21 by sliding the flange 43 between the end of the rib 24 and the panel 20, and, at the same time, sliding the projection 31 of the portion 29 into the depression 45. This "S J secures the two panels 41 and 21 together, but spaced apart the length of the sides 42 and 44. An air space formed between the two panels provides effective thermal insulation.

The insulating panel 41 is also preferably formed of a translucent material which is readily extruded in the desired shape. The two panel may well be formed of the same material. If desired, the two panels, or either of them, may be tinted to supply a pleasing appearance to the building and to color the light penetrating them. As shown in FIG. 1, the panels are assembled on the building 11 sloping inwardly slightly from the roof so that the roof 16 provides an overhang. This additionally seals the assembly against weather and tends to prevent objectionable reflections of the bright sun from the surface of the panels 15.

Although there are many materials which can serve well for panels of the type described herein, some of these materials having been mentioned earlier in this specification, it has been found that most of these materials do not perform well when they contain a pigment to tint the panels and render them translucent, because the ultra-violet light in direct sunlight causes the pigment to darken.

Tinted translucent panels are preferred in most locations to soften the direct light from the sun and to modify the somber color of a gloomy day. On the other hand, clear, transparent synthetic resins, such as polyvinyl chloride, are very weather resistant. We have found it advantageous to use a clear coating over the tinted translucent panel for exterior use. An example of a portion of such a panel is shown in section in FIG. where the reference character 51 refers to a sheet of tinted translucent material such as polyvinyl chloride, coated on the outside surface thereof with a clear uncolored coating 52 of the same or similar material. The clear coating 52 apparently filters out the ultra-violet rays and protects the more sensitive tinted material 51 from direct sunlight.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative construction in which the clear rig-id panel 51a is on the side away from the sun, while a very thin tinted flexible sheet 52a is on the sunward side. This can be done because we have discovered that the process used in the plastic compound to produce flexible sheets seems to have the property of preventing or greatly retarding darkening of the colored material. A possible explanation is that when using colored material in rigid plastic sheets of this type, apparently the lack of stabilizer is one factor which permits the suns rays to act injuriously, while the addition of the necessary stabilizer to produce a flexible sheet appears to inhibit the action of the suns rays and to prevent or reduce to a tolerable amount the undesirable darkening of the pigment. The actual effect of sunlight on these plastics, particularly vinyl plastics, is not well understood, and it appears that very complex molecular effects are involved, but it is definitely clear that the described dual sheet structure, made by dual extrusion, produces improved sun resistance. When the arrangement of FIG. 6 is used, it will be understood that flexible sheet 52a is very thin in comparison with the rigid sheet, being only in the order of .003-.010 inch thick. A preferred satisfactory manner of making these is to mix the ingredients of which the sheets are produced immediately prior to extrusion through the die, which adds very little to the cost and produces a laminated and perfectly bonded sheet. While dual extrusion per se of plastics is well known, we believe this dual extrusion of a flexible and rigid plastic to form such a sheet, to be novel. It will be understood that the required structural strength is provided by the rigid portion of the sheet, and the thin flexible layer is essentially a coloring or screening layer only.

This specification has described and illustrated a new and improved panel which is particularly well adapted for building construction. The new panel is inexpensive, readily assembled onto any form of building, easily disassembled for repair, translucent for the admission of light into a building while excluding the ill effects of weather, and self-insulating when desired. It is realized that the above description may indicate to others in the art additional ways in which the principles of our invention may be utilized without departing from its spirit. It is, therefore, intended that this invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A building construction of interlocked similar panels each comprising (a) a body portion in the form of a sheet having a front surface, a back surface, a first edge and a second edge parallel to said first edge,

(b) a generally U-shaped first channel attached to the first edge along the edge of one leg of the U-shaped first channel with the open side of the channel facing toward the front, the free other leg of the U being slightly shorter than said one leg, a locking rib extending from the bight of said U parallel to and between said legs,

(c) a generally U-shaped second channel attached to said second edge along a line between one leg of the U and the bottom of the U with the open side of the channel facing toward the back,

(d) the legs of said second channel being shorter and closer spaced than the legs of said first channel and mating with the first channel of an adjacent panel and engaging with said locking rib thereon,

(e) the engaged sides of said legs and ribs having locking ridges extending along them arranged to permit relatively easy engagement of the mating channels, but to prevent easy disengagement thereof,

(f) the bottom of the U of said second locking rib element being substantially in the plane of the front surface of the panel, whereby adjacent interlocked panels present a nearly unbroken plane surface on the front side.

2. The invention according to claim 1, said first locking rib element having projecting ridge portions extending along the sides thereof for engaging a second panel of substantially the same width as the first panel, said second panel having flanged means along its edges engaging said ridge portions to hold said second panel parallel to and spaced from said first panel.

3. The invention according to claim 2, said second panel lying substantially in the plane of the bottom of the U of said first channel to provide a nearly unbroken plane surface on the back side of the composite of both panels.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,408,808 10/1946 SoWle 52309 2,444,976 7/1948 Brown 8860 X 2,665,610 1/1954 Harrison 8860 X 3,009,845 11/1961 Wiser 52-622 X 3,025,198 3/1962 Dunn 88-60 X 3,085,367 4/1963 De Ridder et a1 52588 X 3,205,632 9/1965 McCormick 52542 X 3,234,700 2/1966 Creveling 52630 X 3,276,177 10/1966 Keller 523 11 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,109,944 10/1955 France.

OTHER REFERENCES Modern Plastics, February 1956, pp. 92 and 93.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

M. O. WARNECKE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BUILDING CONSTRUCTION OF INTERLOCKED SIMILAR PANELS EACH COMPRISING (A) A BODY PORTION IN THE FORM OF A SHEET HAVING A FRONT SURFACE, A BACK SURFACE, A FIRST EDGE AND A SECOND EDGE PARALLEL TO SAID FIRST EDGE, (B) A GENERALLY U-SHAPED FIRST CHANNEL ATTACHED TO THE FIRST EDGE ALONG THE EDGE OF ONE LEG OF THE U-SHAPED FIRST CHANNEL WITH THE OPEN SIDE OF THE CHANNEL FACING TOWARD THE FRONT, THE FREE OTHER LEG OF THE U BEING SLIGHTLY SHORTER THAN SAID ONE LEG, A LOCKING RIB EXTENDING FROM THE BIGHT OF SAID U PARELLEL TO AND BETWEEN SAID LEGS, (C) A GENERALLY U-SHAPED SECOND CHANNEL ATTACHED TO SAID SECOND EDGE ALONG A LINE BETWEEN ONE LEG OF THE U AND THE BOTTOM OF THE U WITH THE OPEN SIDE OF THE CHANNEL FACING TOWARD THE BACK, 